Loving Them
by PerfectTwo96
Summary: "Draco I see you looking at her while I'm looking at him" Hermione and Draco get talking at a party and they both realise things about the other.


**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of it's characters**

**I hope you like this, I have no idea where I'm going with it so suggestions for other chapters would be greatly appreciated. Please review, hope you enjoy :)**

I see him staring again. I see a look in his eyes that I know well. Pain, unnoticeable to anyone who doesn't know the feeling personally but I do. I follow his line of sight and see the person that it always is. Right beside the person that that makes me get that look. Feel that pain. I want to say something to him, comfort him. But how can you offer comfort to someone when you can't do anything about their pain? Can't do anything to fix it.

I walk over and stand beside him anyway. Things between us changed a lot after the war. He apologised for everything and became our friend. That's the reason he's standing in this bar with us at Neville and Luna's engagement party. People all around us are either drunk or getting there but he seems just as sober as I am. He orders a firewhiskey without acknowledging my presence.

"Are you really gonna drink that and leave me as the only sober one here?" I joke with him.

"Why shouldn't I Hermione?" He replys and reminds me of the smug eleven year old we met at Hogwarts.

"Because I see you. Draco I see you looking at her while I'm looking at him and it doesn't help. Drinking, it doesn't help." I reply like he hasn't switched back to the bully he once was.

His face shows a flash of pain before he responds "It does make me feel numb. And forget. Well until I look at her again. I have noticed you looking at him too. You look at him like I look at her. How long have you felt like that? I only noticed you when I started looking at her."

"Since first year I've known he was more than just a friend. I think I began to like him in second year when I realised how short life can be but I realised I love him when he started loving her. How long have you felt like that?" It hurts to think of him loving her. I love her, she's like the sister I never had. But the fact that he loves her hurts so much. I envy her, she's the only person I have ever envied.

"That's a long time, a lot longer than I've loved her. Well I think I love her. It happened during the final battle and I couldn't get her out of my head and I couldn't understand why but when I saw her and realised she was safe that's when I knew there was no one else for me. I can't imagine having to feel like this for as long as you have."

"Draco I didn't know you were capable of such emotion." I try joke but the topic is too serious. "I'd love to tell you it gets easier but it doesn't. It does get easier to live with but you don't love them any less and it doesn't hurt any less." I don't know how to describe how you live around the pain rather than with it so I stop talking. It's harder than you'd ever imagine to watch the person love and be loved by someone else, by your best friend no less.

"How? How do you just watch? They are so happy and you just watch." He is bewildered, lost, hurt.

As we talk about them we keep looking at them. He's right, they are so happy. I wouldn't wish any less than that happiness for them. I wish I could make him that happy. I see them twirling around and laughing and joking and being in love. I turn to look at Draco and I see the pain etched on his face, for once he is unable to contain it.

"Draco, look at me. Yes I know it hurts and I don't want to give you false hope but think about it, if they are so happy why are they not married yet? They have loved each other since they were sixteen but yet they haven't got married."

"I haven't thought about it like that." I see a flash of hope flash across his face.

"I know that if either of us got half a chance we would marry them straight away yet if they love each other as much as they claim they would already be married." It's a long shot but I've thought about him and them enough to have thought of every possibility and eventually.

I feel a presence beside me and turn to see him, the person who is always on my mind. Draco sees the look in my eyes and says "I should stop being so unsociable and go talk to someone else." With that he gets up and walks in her direction, I can only imagine what he's going to say to her.

With that I finally turn to acknowledge him "Hey Harry, how are you doing?"


End file.
